An affiliate of Silicon Ranch Corp. is seeking Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval to sell all or a portion of the planned 55-MW Hazlehurst III Solar Project to the Joint Development Authority of Jeff Davis County, Hazlehurst and Denton, Ga., know as JDA.
The project, located in Jeff Davis County, Ga., is expected to enter operation in 2020. It will be connected to Southern Co.'s balancing authority area, according to a FERC filing. The facility holds a 30-year power purchase agreement with Green Power EMC.
The deal includes a 17-year leaseback agreement between Silicon Ranch affiliate SR Hazlehurst III LLC and JDA, as part of a bond transaction to provide a personal property tax abatement for the project.
The parties expect to close the bond transaction by Oct. 27. The Silicon Ranch affiliate will have an option to repurchase the JDA's stake in the project at any time during the 17-year term of the bond lease for a nominal amount.
Following the bond transaction, all or a part of SR Hazlehurst III's leasehold interest will be assigned to RF SR Solar Trust, followed by the applicant's sub-lease of all or part of the project from the trust. The sub-lease transaction is expected to close on or before Dec. 31.
JDA will be passive owner-lessor of the facility and will not be a public utility. Silicon Ranch affiliate SR Hazlehurst III LLC will retain operation and control of the facility throughout the transactions.
The applicant requested FERC to approve the transaction on or before Oct. 14.
The trust is established for the purpose of owning solar facilities operated by affiliates of Silicon Ranch and leasing such projects to affiliates of Silicon Ranch for the benefit of Regions Equipment Finance Ltd. Royal Dutch Shell PLC subsidiary Shell New Energies US LLC owns a 43.134% outstanding stake in Silicon Ranch. (FERC docket EC19-133)
